Adam Magnus
Overview ' ' Adam Patrick Magnus (March 5th, 2524 - present) was a UNSC Army Pathfinder and currently serves as Spartan team Theta’s leader aboard the UNSC Infinity. ' ' Adam Magnus entered military service in 2542 at age 18, graduating from UNSC Army basic training and moving onto UNSC Army Airborne training in the September of that year. He went on to serve with prestige in the UNSC Army Pathfinders, winning two Purple Hearts, a Silver Star with Oak Leaf Clusters, and The Medal of Honor - the highest award that can be given in the UNSC. Adam took part in most major military engagements of the second half of the Human-Covenant War, taking part in battles such as The Battle of Alluvion, The Battle of Mirdidem, The Battle of Reach, and The Battle of Earth. ' ' For his actions during the Battle of Cleveland, Adam received the Medal of Honor. Under heavy enemy fire, Adam ran into a hail of enemy fire to man the gun on the back of a M12 Warthog, providing covering fire for his platoon to retreat to a better defensive position. He managed to hold off an entire mechanized company of Covenant ground forces for nearly 20 minutes, despite being wounded and running low on ammunition. ' ' After The Battle of Cleveland Adam spent two weeks in a military hospital recovering from his wounds. He made a full recovery and returned to active duty, serving with the Pathfinders for a further five months before being recruited for the second class of the Spartan 4 program. Adam ended his contract with the UNSC Army and signed a new contract with the UNSC Navy. Adam completed his training at the top-secret Spartan 4 training facility and assumed the position of Theta team leader in October 2554. ' ' Early Life ' ' Adam Magnus was the first child of three born to Emilia Jean Magnus and Michael Frank Magnus. ' ' Growing up, Adam was a quiet child with few friends. A talented athlete and a gifted student, Adam was involved in several extra-curricular activities from an early age, including academic challenge, chess club, and football. ' ' When Adam was 14, his father, a USNC Marine Corps Longsword pilot, was shot down during the defense of a mining colony and presumed dead. The tragic loss had a profound impact on Adam’s life, later quoting it as the reason he decided to join the UNSC. “It really hit me hard, y’know? Sure, it was one thing to know that the war was going on, seeing news footage of it on the TV and all, but that felt so distant. My life wasn’t really impacted by it...But when I heard about my dad? It flipped a switch in me. This war was now a personal matter. In my eyes, the only thing I could do at that point was join the UNSC and set the score even a little.” ' ' Military Service ' ' After graduating high school, Adam enlisted in the UNSC Army as an Air Assault Trooper. He was able to easily get through basic training at Fort Henry, and proceeded to airborne training at Fort Benson, where he finished 4th in his class for over all combat readiness score. ' ' Adam was attached to Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 15th Regiment, 173rd Airborne Division, under the command of Major General Alekzander Flashanko, which at the time was stationed at forward operating base Castle-Bravo. Just weeks after arriving at his first post, the division was redeployed to Alluvion to help in the defense of the planet. ' ' The 173rd Airborne Division took part in several large scale operations against Covenant forces on Alluvion, such as Operation Impetuous and Operation Thunderbolt, both of which were minor UNSC tactical victories, which served to temporarily disrupt continued Covenant operations on Alluvion. The successes wouldn’t last forever, however. On the 12th of March 2542, a second covenant fleet appeared, cutting off Alluvion’s vital supply routes and forcing the UNSC fleet covering the planet to withdraw. On the 15th of March, the UNSC fleet, now bolstered with reinforcements, made a daring counter attack, buying ground forces and civilians alike time to escape the planet. Within six hours the UNSC fleet had been badly beaten and the temporary corridor they had opened for fleeing civilians and military personnel was cut off. Over 300 million civilians were lost, and the 173rd Airborne lost nearly 35% of it’s manpower. The 173rd Airborne Division returned to their forward operating base at Castle-Bravo, and spent the next six months recuperating its strength. During this time, Adam got promoted to Private First Class, and then again to Corporal two months later. ' ' The 173rd Airborne saw major action throughout the next ten years, primarily serving as a shock force in conjunction with ODST’s during various counter offensive operations. ' ' On August 1st, 2552, the 173rd Airborne Division arrived on Reach to assist in defense of the planet. During Operation Hubris, Adam, then a Staff Sergeant, was wounded by the nearby explosion of a Wraith mortar, covering 65% of his right leg in 2nd degree burns. After two weeks in the hospital, Adam returned to Charlie Company on the 18th of August, just in time for the Siege of New Alexandria. ' ' From the 18th of August to the 23rd, Charlie Company helped in the evacuation of Civilians from the city, suffering heavy casualties from covenant strafing attacks on evacuation sites. ' ' On August the 22nd, Adam lead a desperate counter attack on Covenant positions just outside of the city’s primary cargo port, Charlie Company using their jetpacks and superior mobility to launch a surprise flanking maneuver. During the counter attack, Adam spotted the covenant’s sectional commander attempting to flee from the battlefield, and he seized an abandoned M739 SAW, killing 6 covenant and wounding 4 as he pursued the sectional commander. Adam managed to catch up with the fleeing commander, and eliminated both the commander and his 4 escorts with hand grenades and machine gun fire. For his bravery and gallantry in the face of enemy fire, Adam was awarded the Silver Star with Oak Leaf clusters on August the 25th. ' ' When the situation on Reach became untenable, the 173rd Airborne Division withdrew from Reach and was reassigned to the Toronto Defense Sector on Earth. ' ' On November 2nd, 2552, the Covenant launched an assault on the city of Cleveland, and the 173rd Airborne Division was redeployed to counter the threat. 1st Battalion was deployed to the industrial sector of the city to halt the covenant assault, and it fell to Charlie Company to hold the cross roads at Main Street and 3rd Avenue. ' ' Throughout the day Charlie Company took heavy enemy contact, and they were unable to hold their tactically weak positions. Adam ordered his platoon to retreat to the partially destroyed concrete factory five hundred meters to their rear while he covered their retreat. He mounted a smoldering M12 Warthog and used the rear mounted chain gun to cover the platoon’s retreat, halting the advance of a covenant mechanized company. Adam valiantly defended his post by himself, killing or wounding an upwards of 50 Covenant soldiers during his defense. Even though he had sustained a shrapnel wound to his right arm, he continued to man his position for twenty minutes until he had expended all of the chain gun’s ammunition. Adam was then able to drive the damaged Warthog back to friendly lines, disregarding his own injuries as he helped take care of the other wounded in the company and assist in the repulsion of a Covenant assault. ' ' Charlie Company held their position in the bombed out concrete factory for nearly 6 hours against repeated Covenant assaults, destroying 4 enemy wraiths and 6 Ghosts, and killing or wounding an upwards of 130 Covenant soldiers. At 18:32 hours, elements of the 51st Marine Reconnaissance Battalion arrived in the Industrial sector and relieved the beleaguered Charlie Company. ' ' For his actions that day, Brigadier General A.J. Johnson and Colonel Hammond recommended Adam for the Medal of Honor. On November 6th, General A.L. Murphy presented the medal to Adam. ' ' In an official press interview on November the 7th when asked about why he did it, he stated: “Because someone had to do it, and I wouldn’t ask my men to do something I wouldn’t do myself.” ' ' He and Charlie Company were transferred back to Toronto to recover. Adam spent the next two weeks in an army field hospital, making a full return to active duty on November 17th. The remainder of the 173rd Airborne Division was hardly given time to recover after the Battle of Cleveland, and they took part in various other campaigns during The Battle of Earth, such as Operation MARSH FLASH and various mopping-up operations. For their outstanding combat performance and bravery in action,Charlie Company of the 173rd Airborne Division was given the U.E.G. Unit Citation Award. ' ' Induction to the Spartan IV Program ' ' On April 12th, 2553, Adam was given orders to report to the ONI URNA headquarters in Washington, D.C. At the ONI UNAR headquarters, Adam was informed that he had been hand selected for the Spartan IV program, and was given the choice to join. Adam agreed, and on April 14th he formally ended his contract with the UNSC Army and signed a new contract with the UNSC Navy. Adam underwent extensive physical training onboard the top-secret Spartan IV training facility, withstanding hour after hour of grueling physical training, combat simulations, and orientation. After six months, the second class of Spartan IV’s underwent their physical augmentations and obtained their Military Occupational Specialties. Naturally, Adam was trained in airborne operations and infiltration tactics. Due to his service in the Army, Adam was made the team leader of a newly formed Spartan team, Spartan Team Theta, which dealt primarily in airborne assault, infiltration, and High Value Target (HVT) assassination. Category:Spartan Category:Spartan-IVs __FORCETOC__